Mad Men

On November 9, Pathways for Kids supporters gathered to celebrate the 14th Annual “Mad Men Ball” Gala at the iconic Mark Hopkins Hotel. The event raised $100,000 in support of Pathways for Kids programs and career exploration initiatives. Over 250 members of the Bay Area philanthropic and corporate community were in attendance to celebrate and acknowledge the work and dedication of Pathways for Kids.

Guests dressed in Mad Men inspired fashions, enjoyed gin martinis and cocktails as they perused hundreds of silent auction items. The Grand Peacock Court featured the Charles Unger band playing the top songs from the 1960’s to set the tone of the night.

I caught up with visual designerShawn Carrico, while standing in line at the SF Street Food Festival, last Saturday in the Mission. His red bow-tie and wicked-sharp glasses immediately caught my attention but, while he's incorporated great details, his outfit is still refreshingly casual -- and thus, street food appropriate. Shawn said his favorite eats at the festival were the Penang Curry Bomb Bun and Sharbat from Azalina's.

In anticipation of AMC’s fifth season of Mad Men®, Banana Republic launched their limited edition Mad Men Collection with a swanky soiree at the flagship San Francisco Grant Avenue location on August 11. As guests walked in on the glamorous red carpet, they enjoyed delicious appetizers by LRE Catering, took pictures in the vintage photo booth, and put themselves in Mad Men scenes with the magic of Yoostar 2 and Kinect for Xbox 360. SenSpa specialists pampered guests by providing complimentary makeovers, gift bags, and raffle prizes while DJ Niall Stevenson played Mad Men-era music to enhance the atmosphere.

I caught up with Jaynelle St. Jean, owner of Oakland's PieTisserie, last week at the Super Duper opening party. Not everyone can rock tan, high-waisted leggings, but Jaynelle wore them with confidence and she wore them well. I also love how her scarf and heels add color and instant sophistication to this otherwise casual outfit.

Although it's Roger Sterling's one-line zingers on Mad Men that have a special place in my heart, the new-agey antics of Bert Cooper, the show's other hard-ball exec, are also pretty top-notch. Robert Morse, who's been nominated for an Emmy twice for his role as Cooper in the series, is speaking at USF on August 15 as part of the Comedy Talks: Conversations With the Legends of Comedy.

Billed as an "Inside the Actors Studio meets The Tonight Show," the conversation will also feature Shelley Berman (who plays Larry David's father in Curb Your Enthusiasm) and Will Durst, the prolific local political satirist who used to co-host a radio show with Willie Brown.

One glance at our calendar made something very clear, there's much too much happening this week to keep it all to ourselves. So strap on your walking heels and get ready for some serious summer shopping:

I sometimes joke about the habit of some serious modern bartenders to signify their profession by sporting moustaches, vests, cuffs and other physical accoutrements of a bygone age. You can see this on display here in town at places like Rickhouse, Bourbon and Branch and on various other "serious" bartenders in town. But, on the other hand, I also admire it. It's nice to see people with such professional pride, and I like the fact that their garb address the historical/conservational side of what they do, since many of them are celebrated more for their brands of innovative mixology.

San Francisco Sketchfest, the annual Bay Area comedy festival, doesn’t limit itself to showcasing local-grown talent. Nationally-known comedians, -- especially a brigade of Late Great comics (not dead, just no longer eligible for prime time) are here to answer the burning question, where are they now? In past years, celebrated but sorta superannuated icons such as Paul Ruebens, Gene Wilder and Jonathan (AKA Dr.) Katz have all been showcased at the festival.